Through a Camera Lens
by IsAry
Summary: Maxime is a strange girl with a passion for photography. She has a soulmark on her right shoulder since her tenth birthday, but her soulmate has been dead for seventy years. Thanks to an accident with her power, she has a chance to meet her destiny, AU from the first Avenger movie, but I will explore a little of "Captain America The First Avenger".
1. Prologue

Hi! This is my first Avengers fanfiction and the first one that I wrote in english (I am italian, so I am sorry if there are mistakes). I love Steve Rogers and I have written a bunch of stories about him in the last year, but this is the first one that I was brave enough to post here and on my blog.

The three characters that I introduce in the prologue are from the videogame "Life is strange", but I don't think my story is a cross over because I used only their name and Max's power.

I hope you like it and I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Prologue

"Max! Max, wait for me!"

I turned around and saw my blue-headed best friend Chloe running toward me with her bag on her shoulder. She was pulling her girlfriend Rachel behind her, but the beautiful girl didn't seem to mind.

"I stopped, Chloe. You don't have to shout." I said with a sigh when they stopped by my side.

"She thinks that you will dump us to go snap some photo at the museum again." told me Rachel giving her soulmate a side glance and ignoring the frown that appeared on said girl.

"It happened just that one time! I promised I would go with you to the park and I would make some photo for your photobook, so don't worry Chloe. I keep my promises."

I started to walk again with my friends and together walked through the park in front of our high school to reach the parking area where Chloe truck was parked.

My name is Maxime Stark if you were wondering about it and the girls with me are Chloe Price and Rachel Amber. We are in the same classes at school even if they are a year older than me, but they lost a year for family reasons that kept them away from classes. We have known each other since we were kids and we are like sisters.

"Ok, what do you exactly want in this photobook of yours?" I asked sitted in the far right side of the truck's bench.

"We want to have something to celebrate our fifth year of relationship and we thougth that a photobook of us during this time period is a wonderful idea." explained Chloe from the driver seat.

"We collected a lot of old photos already, somes you took some time ago and somes we printed from our phones, but we want some fresh ones for the last pages." added Rachel with a smile on her red lips.

"Wow, five years already? I can't belive it!" I said suprised, but I've always knew that those two where made for each other even before I discovered their soulmarks.

In this crazy world if you are destined to be with someone, his or her name appears on you right shoulder when you turn ten and thats exactly what happened to them. I know both of my best friends were scared when they found each other names on their shoulder and it took me three years to convince them to reveal their secret to their soulmate.

"Yeah and we have you to thank for, you made us see reason." said Rachel smiling to me and taking her girlfriend's hand in hers.

"You were just scared, I know I would be in you place." I replied turning my head to look outside the car window with a faraway look in my blue eyes.

"You will find him." Chloe said to me knowing what thoughts were passing through my mind in that moment.

"You know I won't." I said turning towards her again with a hard glare on my face.

"How can you be so sure?"

"He is dead, Chloe. If you discover how to revive a corpse let me know, but until you do I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe he is another..." tried to say Rachel playing nervously with some strands of her blond hair.

"You know he is THAT guy, so please let it go." I pleaded turning around with tears in my eyes trying to hide them with my short chocolate brown hair and they listened to me knowing how much talking about it hurted me.

We stayed in silence for the rest of our ride and walk to the park, my mind lost in the memory of the first time I saw my soul mark….

...It was the 21st of September in 2004, I turned ten that day and I was taking a shower in my house in Malibù after spending a wonderful afternoon with my best friends. It was a friday night and my dad was coming home from New York where he had worked for the previous month. We were to go to dinner in a fancy restaurant where his assistant Pepper Potts had reserved a table for us than we were to watch some movies in our private cinema in the house eating sweets.

I was drying myself when a strange black line caught my eyes and it made me freeze in place. Through the mirror, I could see three word tatooed on my skin and they clearly were three names. I started to run my fingers along each letter in awe, but I was too shocked to read them.

"Pumpkin? I'm home!" shouted my father from the living room on the floor below, but I was too engrossed in my reflection that I didn't hear him.

"Sugar, are you alright?" asked Tony Stark knocking on my bathroom's door. Yeah, my father is THE Tony Stark, rich, self-centered philatropist also none as Iron Man since 2008, even if he wasn't his alter ego at the time, that concived me almost eleven years ago during a drunk night out and decided to raise me when my mother left me on his door step with just a letter.

"Dad!" I cried startled turning around and trying to cover my mark, but my bathrobe didn't seem to agree with me falling down my shoulder everytime I tried to put it back on.

"Wow! Calm down! I didn't want to startle you! I called you for five minutes and when you didn't answered me I started to get worried."

"I..." I stuttered starting to panic.

My father put his hand on my marked shoulder and I flinched. He noticed and removed his hand quickly looking at me with worried eyes: "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, dad. Can you give me a minute? Give me the time to dress up and I'll come down ready to go to the restaurant." I tried to distract him turning again towards the mirror, but my father was having none of it and grasped my shoulder again making me face him.

"What are you hiding, Maxime?" asked with a frown.

"Dad..."

"Do not dad me! Show me or I'll make you." he said sternly locking his hazel eyes with mine.

After some minutes of stare contest, I sighed and without saying anything I removed my bathrobe from my right shoulder.

"That's..." murmured Tony studing my soulmark.

"Yeah..."

"And it says..."

"I don't know, I… didn't read it yet."

"What?" he asked surprised looking back at my face snapping out of his stupor: "I called you for five minutes and you just stayed there staring at it without reading it?"

"I was surprised." I confessed blushing: "I never thought I would get a soulmark."

"Maxime..." started to say my father struggling for words, something that rarely happened: "You should look and… be prepared."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused facing the mirror again.

"You… Just look." was his only reply and I did.

On my shoulder, the name Steven Grant Rogers was written in a elegant black line…

..."Come on, Max! Take your camera so we can start!" shouted Chloe from a tree she just climbed while she helped Rachel doing the same.

"You want your photos to be on a branch?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, it's a start." replied the blue-headed girl with a shrug and mirth in her blue eyes, so I just started to snap photos following their demands.

After more than an hour of work, the couple moved to a pic-nic table sitting on one of the benches and I started to take pictures moving around them.

"Ehi! I got an idea!" I said suddenly running back to the tree and starting to climb it.

"Max, be careful!" shouted Rachel, she always was the mother hen between the three of us.

"I will!" I shouted back, but my foot faltered on the trunk and I slipped stopping my fall with my hands just in time. My camera wasn't so lucky and shattered on the ground in a lot of pieces.

"Shit." I cursed climbing down the tree and taking my broken camera from the grass.

"Can you do something to repair it?" asked Rachel studying the object with her hazel eyes. The two girl had run to me after the accident hoping that the damage wasn't so bad.

"No." I answerd angry with my self. That camera was an old model, I prefered old photocameras to the modern ones, and it was a gift for my sweet sixteen from my father, it was precious to me and I should have been more careful, but it was too late.

"Of course you can!" exclaimed Chloe looking at me as if I was crazy: "You can use your power!"

"Chloe, I can't use it for something so stupid."

"It's not stupid, you love that camera." shot back my friend.

"Chloe is right, Max. You treat that camera as if it was alive and you can repair it with your power." tried to convince me Rachel with a nudge on mu shoulder.

I sighed and looked at the broken machine. It was worth a try so I concentrated and things around me started to move. I saw my two friends walking toward the pic-nic table backwords just like everything else was doing and my camera repairing itself, but there was no sign of myself as always. Everytime, everything came back to a previous position but me.

I discovered I had the power to control time two years ago. My friends and myself were fooling aroung by the sea and Chloe fell from a rock breaking her leg. I started to panic and to move my hands around without knowing what to do. Everything just froze before my eyes and than started to go backward with Chloe standing again and walking the road we just did with Rachel as if everything was in rewind. After some minutes, I started to feel light-headed and the world around me started to move normal again. Chloe and Rachel noticed me far ahead of them and they were confused so I told them what just happened deciding not to say anything to anyone else. Not even my dad.

Other accidents happend after the first one so I decided to learn how to control it and my friends agreed to help me in everyway they could.

"What happened?" asked Rachel from her seat noticing my sudden change of position. Nobody remembered the previous timeline but me, but Chloe and Rachel knew how to read the signs.

"My camera was broken and I repaired it." I answered checking my camera and I noticed that something was off with the lens.

"Is everything ok?" shouted Chloe.

"I don't know." I murmured placing the lens before my right eye and looking through it.

Suddenly I saw a blinding light and felt myself free fall with a scream coming out of my lips until I felt the ground hit my back hard.

"Ah..." I moaned in pain arching my back.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" asked someone from above me and I opened my eyes to stare in a pair of blue one that were looking at me with worry.

"I'm fine, thank you." I said accepting the hand that the short guy was offering me.

Once I was on my feet again, I studied the boy noticing that he was short just like me and thin with blond hair and a sweet face. He was wearing a white shirt with a grey jacket and brown trousers.

"Are you sure? You fell from the sky and it can't be normal, right?" he asked unsure if what he had said was right. Maybe he was thinking that for me it could be a normal thing falling from the sky and he didn't want to offend me.

I blushed at his words, but I didn't know how to answer that so I just looked to the ground putting my hands in the pockets of my jeans and in that moment I noticed that my camera was missing.

"Did you see my photocamera?" I asked looking fervently around.

"No, you didn't have it on you when you hit the ground." he said observing my movements with a confused look on his face.

"No, it can't be. I had it with me."

"Ma'am, are you absolutely sure?" he repeated putting a hand on my shoulder halting my movements.

"Yes." I snapped back angry feeling immediately guilty: "I'm sorry, but that camera is a gift from my father and I can't lose it."

"I understand. Why don't you describe it to me and we can start looking around here together?" he offered with a smile.

"Thank you." I said sincerely looking into his beautiful eyes: "But you have to stop calling me ma'am. I'm Maxime, but my friends call me Max."

"Steve." he said shaking my hand: "Steve Rogers."


	2. First Chapter - Soulmate

**Hi! Here I am with the first chapter and I hope you liked the prologue.**

**I want to say that my schedule for updates won't be regular because I wrote the chapters day by day. This is the first story I post written in english from scratch (ok, this is the first one I wrote in english period) and it takes a lot more of time because I check it five times more than the italian fanfictions I write. So, please be patient with me!**

**Well, back to the story! The first day of Maxime with her soulmate and a little set back.**

**First Chapter – Soulmate**

When my hand touched his, some kind of energy sparkled in my fingers, travelled through my arm and spread in all my body with a tingling sensation. It was a strange feeling, but also a good one. Like a chain reaction, his eyes were immediately in mine and I couldn't look away even if I wanted to.

I knew why I was feeling strange, I recognized the name because it was tattoed on my right shoulder's skin since I was ten, but it was impossible for this guy to be HIM. He died in 1945 in a plane crash in the Artic and I've seen pictures of him and this little guy is too thin and too short to be the same man.

"What..." he stammered without breaking our eye contact: "What did you say your name was?"

"Maxime." I took a deep breath before talking again, I knew what he wanted to hear: "Maxime Maria Stark."

His eyes grew even more if it was possible when he heard my full name, they seemed baseballs and in that moment I knew that he was the Steve Rogers, my soulmate.

"I never thought I would meet you." he murmured studing me from head to toe with wonder: "I never imagined you to be so..."

"Strange?" I supplied when he was struggling to find words. It wasn't the first time a boy called me that and I wouldn't fault him for it.

"Beautiful." he finished blushing furiously.

I have to say I was surprised by his choice of word, but I couldn't help myself and I started laughting without control. Nobody had ever said something like that to me and I was sure that his sight needed a check up. I stopped when I noticed that my reaction was misunderstood by Steve because he began to shift his weight nervously from one foot to the other.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude, but you are the first one to say something like that to me." I said with tears caused by laughter escaping my eyes and I dryed them with the back of my left hand: "It's hard for me to believe that you are serious."

"Well, I think that a lot of people should have their sight checked by a good doctor." Steve said with a stronger voice and determination, but his cheeks were always red and he tried to avoid my gaze.

A smile appeard on my lips at his words. If he really was my soulmare, I was lucky because he was a really sweet guy, but I had to be sure so I asked: "Can I see your mark?"

He stilled at my words and hesitated, but than he started to unbotton his shirt and to reveal his right shoulder: his soulmark was there, my name tatooed on his skin with my messy handwrite.

When he didn't ask to see mine in return, I was confused because I believed him to be curious as much as me: "Do you want to see the one I have?"

His eyes grew in surprise, but he didn't speak so I showed him anyway understanding that he was very shy and a gentleman at the same time. He would never ask a woman to undress herself in a public place like the one we were in.

Only in that momenti I realized that we were in the middle of Time Square, but its design was quite diffrent from the one I was familiar with because it came from a time period settled between the end of the 30's and the beginning of the '40s, I wasn't sure about the exact year I was in, but it was clear that I had somehow time travelled even if I never knew I could go so far back.

I felt his gaze burn on my skin when his eyes landed on my shoulder and slowly followed each letter. His hand hitched at his side as if he wanted to touch it, but than he probably changed his mind thinking that it was a inapropriate thing to do to a woman.

"Would you..." he took a deep breath and I think he was trying to find the courage to ask me something: "Would you like to go to a diner with me? We can eat somenthing and… get to know each other better."

"Don't you have something to do?" I asked perplexed.

"Nothing is more important than spend my time with my soul mate."

"Than I would love to." I said with a big smile and we started to walk on the sidewalk together in silence without touching each other, my camera completely forgotten.

We entered a little building that nearly disappeared between the tall skyscrapers that already existed, but it was cozy and we find a booth in the far left side of the room. It must have been early in the morning hours because there were a lot of people eating their breakfast.

Somehow, I really did travelled in the past, everything around me was clearly old fashined, and my gift must have spiraled out of control. It must have been my camera that took some of my power when I repaired it rewinding my present and channeled it throught its lens to get me here. But… why? Just to meet my soulmate?

"You are thinking really loud." His voice broke throught my thoughts and I looked up from my hands folded together on the table to see him observing me with a curious look in his eyes.

"Really? Well, I have to say that just like you I never thought I would meet you." I said with sincerety in my voice using the same words he used before.

"I am sorry to not be what you would have liked me to be."

I stared him confused leaning back on the couch and crossing my arms before my chest: "And how do you think I have imagined you?"

"Well, I am sure not like me." he replied shrugging without meeting my inquiring eyes.

"What's wrong about you?"

He looked at me as if I was crazy, but I waited for his explenation that arrived shortly after: "Well, I am not exactly what most women would call... attractive."

"I am not most women." I said resolutely.

"No." he granted observing my figure with a strange glint in his eyes: "You certainlly are not."

"So, why do you belittle yourself so much in front of your soulmate?"

"Because..."

"Listen." I stopped him, leaning forward and laying my arms crossed on the table without interrupting our eye contact: "It seems that women don't have a lot of brain in the '40s. From where I come, women usually try to know someone without judging their look first or I hope so for the future of humankind because otherwise we are doomed. I always hoped to meet you and now that you are in front of me I want to know you better."

"I want to know you too." he said with a giant smile and I could finally see how handsome he really was even if he wasnt't the same Steve Rogers I grew up studing about. Maybe he was short and thin, but inside there was a whole world to discover and I didn't need or want anything more.

We started to chat about frivolous things like our favourite food, drink, our hobbies and I discovered that he was an artist. He was studing at an art school, that was the place where he was going before meeting me, and in the meanwhile he worked part time to pay the bills with the help of his best friend.

We were interrupted twice by a waitress. The first time she asked what we would have liked to eat, we ordered hot chocolate with a slice of apple pie that Steve said to be his favourite dessert and the second time was when the girl brought our orders to us.

"So you live with Bucky?" I asked before taking the first bite of my pie and humming in pleasure at the amazing taste.

"Yes, we share a little appartment in Brooklyn since my mother death." he replied eating his cake with a slow pace.

"Oh." I murmured feeling sorry to have broguht up a sensitive subject: "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's ok, don't worry. It has been two years already." he said with a said look in his eyes: "She was a nurse and worked in the infectious department. She fell ill one day and her health deteriorated rapidly. We did not have much money at that time… Well, it's not like Bucky and I have a lot more now... But I couldn't afford to buy the necessary medicines and she died in a week."

"I'm sorry."  
"Don't be. At least, I still have Bucky and even if he is a punk that try to set me up on a date with a dame that don't want to spend the evening with a man short like me nearly every day, I love him like a brother."

"I am happy for you, Bucky seems a good guy."

"He is and I am sure that when you will meet him, you wouldn't look at me a second time."

"I have already said it that you belittle yourself too much for my taste and do you really think I am so superficial? I could be offended." I said with a serious tone.

"No, I didn't mean to..." he started to apologize, but my laughter stopped him and he looked at me with a confused expression.

"I was kidding, don't worry." I reassured him before starting my own sad story: "I'm an only child. I was born from a one night stand between my parents and my mother left me on the door step of my father's home with just a letter to explain that I was a burden and that she didn't aborted because of her parents, but she didn' want to be involved in my life."

"I am sorry."

"Just like you said, you don't have to be. You have Bucky, I have my dad and I love him so much. He works a lot, but he is always there for me when I need him." I said with a soft smile on my lips.

"Where do you live?" he asked suddenly, our dishes alreay empty.

"Malibù." I answered without thinking.  
"It's a long journey from the west coast. Is that why you fell from the sky?"

I froze at his words. That was a conversation that I was not ready to have and a diner was not the right place.

"I don't know what you are talking about." I tried to lie, but his eyes were serious and I immediatly knew that it would have been impossible to change the subject.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. I was walking alone on the street when you fell from the sky at my feet and I was the only one that saw you doing it. I won't tell, I promise, but I need to undestand." he explained taking my hand in his with a quick movement and smiling at me.

I took a deep breath and decided that I had to be sincere with my soulmate. If he didn't believe me, nobody would.

"I am not from here." I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I got that. You said you live in Malibù."

"It's not what I meant."

"Has it something to do with your strange clothes?" he asked pointing at me with a light gesture.

I looked down to my blue jeans, light pink t-shirt and grey sweatshirt with my brows furrowed: "Do you think that my clothes are strange? For me, yours are."

"But why?"

I looked around to be sure that nobody was listening to us than I whisperered: "I am from another time."

He stilled at my word and simply stared at me lost in his thought.

That was it. He was going to laught at me, to say that I was crazy than he was going to leave me and nevere come back.

"You are..."

"From the future." I supplied: "Novembre 2nd 2011."

"Wow." was all he said and I started to squirm under his gaze.

"Say something, please." I pleaded, I couldn't stand another second in that silence.

"It's incredible."

"But it's true, you have to believe me."

"I do." he said surprising me: "I never thought it was possible to travel throught time, but I don't see why my soulmate should lie to me."

Too happy to think clearly, I jumped from my seat and hugged him across the table with all my might thanking him again and again.

"Max, please, I can't breath." he laughted amused.

"Oh! I am sorry!" I cried releasing him from my grip and blushing furiously seating again.

"I suppose there is a great story about this time travel thing."

"Yes, but a diner is not the right place to talk about it."

"Maybe a walk in the park is a better option?" he asked and both of us stood up from our seats. He left the money for our food on the table and we left the building together.

We had just started to walk towards the park when a strange sensation started to burn inside of me, I felt light headed like everytime I used my power for too long and I immediately knew that my time was up.

"I have to go." I murmured staring at the tiles of the sidewalk. I didn't want to.

"Why?" he asked unhappy alting our walk and grasping my hand.

"I don't know, but I can feel that is time for me to return home."

"Will I see you again?"

I looked up in his pleading eyes: "I hope so. I have just find you and..."

"It's the same for me, Max." he said and boldly kissed me on the corner of my lips making both of us blush furiously.

That was the last thing I experienced in the past because the next moment I was lying on the grass in the same park where I went with Chloe and Rachel after school. My best friends were standing over me and they had a worried expression on their faces.

"Max! Are you alright?" asked my blue-headed friend helping me to my feet.

"Yeah, what happened?" I inquired. What happend while I was with Steve? I disappeard?

"We don't know. After you looked throught the lens, you collapsed on the floor and were unconcious for nearly fifteen minutes." Rachel esplained to me: "We were about to call your father when you regained conciousness."

What?! Fifteen minutes? But I was gone for at least two hours!

"Are you alright? You hit you head or something in the other timeline?" Chloe asked worried studing my appearence.

"No, I am alright. It's… complicated." I replied checking my camera and looking throught the lens just like I did before hoping to get back to my Steve in a time where he was still alive.

"Complicated how?"

"And what's this?" asked Rachel bending down to pick something from the grass. Chloe and I turned to look at her and at what she was holding.

It was a polaroid picture, but I was sure that I didn't took it before my journey. She handed it to me and I studied it surprised.  
"Who is he?" asked Chloe looking at the picture over my shoulder.

In the photo, there was Steve seated in the booth of the diner laughting and the perspective of the picture was the same of mine of when I was seated in front of him.

"He's Steve."

"He's cute." Rachel said with a small smile: "Did you met him at school."

"No, we would remember someone like hime." Chloe told her shaking her head: "And look, his clothes are strange."

"They aren't strange, they are old fashioned." I replied putting the photo away. It was a real treasure for me.

"Why would he dress like that?" asked my blue-headed friend perplexed and her girlfriend tried to hit her with her elbow in the side to make her shut up, but the girl was faster and dodge it.

"Because he live in another time." I simply said: "He is Steve Rogers, my soulmate."


	3. Second Chapter – Alone Again?

**Hi! First, I want to say that I did some little changes in the previou chapter if you want to check them out, but I didn't changed anything of the plot. I just added somethings to clear the narration.**

**Then, I want to say… THANK YOU! There are just 2 chapters of thi fanfiction and there are already 12 people following it and 4 that put my story in their favourite list! I am so happy! I will try not to keep you interest on this story! I intend to update at least once a week, so I can work better on each chapter.**

**REVIEW:**

**xLaBellaVita: I am happy that you like my story and I hope that I won't disappoint you in the future!**

**Now, onto the new chapter. Max is back in her time and she is feeling lonely, once you are touche by your soulmate you can't stay without him. How will react her father?**

**Second Chapter – Alone Again?**

The sun was setting disappearing behind the ocean, an orange glow colored the white walls of my room and I could hear some birds singing from the tree in front of my window. I was sitting cross-legged on my bed and I was playing a melanchonic melody with my guitar.

It had already been 50 days since I was in the past with my soulmate and I was feeling lonely. I missed Steve so much, just one day with him wasn't enought for me, but everything I tried to travel back in time again had failed and I was stuck in my present. A present where my soulmate was dead.

Chloe and Rachel had tried to help me in every way possible, but if I couldn't do something about it with the power to control time that I have, what could they do? Obviously, I didn't say anything to them. I was greatful for their support, but sometime it wasn't enough.

My Stark phone buzzed near my left knee and I put aside my guitar to grasp it. There was a message from my blue-headed best friend.

_-How are you feeling now?_

Today we had spent the morning together and we had lunch at our favourite McDonald's while Rachel was helping her mother cooking for Christmas that was in four days, but I was my usual moody self for every second of our outing and she had tried to cheer me up without success. I left her in the early hours of the afternoon because I didn't want to drag her into my spiral of depression and she had let me go even if she wasn't sure that leaving me alone was a good idea.

_-Better.- _Just a word because I didn't want to lie again.

_-You are lying.-_ She could read me even throught my message.

_-How can you tell?_

_-I know you._

_-Ok, I am not, but what can I do? He is my soulmate and he lives in another time! I just want..._

_-I don't know what to say, sweety. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like If I had met Rachel and than I had to leave her without knowing if or when I would see her again._

_-It's terrible, Chloe and you two are the only one with whom I can speak about it._

_-Is your father giving you a hard time?_

_-He is worried about me and he knows I lie to him everytime he asks about it._

_-It's normal, he is your father after all and he loves you._

_-I suppose so. He has always been an amazing father even though I know that a lot of peaple didn't believed that he could be one and he tried to keep the imagine of an easy going father for the press but speaking with him about this kind of things has never been easy, usually Pepper is the one that talked to me about them, so why did he changed so much in the last month?_

_-I don't know, but you have to agree that he has changed a lot in the last three years._

_-Yeah, since… _I started to write when the door of my room opened and my father appeard from the hallway.

"Sweety, Pepper says that dinner is ready, are you coming down?" he asked leaning againt the door jamb.

"Yes, I'll be down in a minute dad." I said smiling at him and waiting for him to leave before answering Chloe one last time.

_-I have to go, dinner's ready and dad is already giving me strange looks._

I hopped down my bed and put my guitar against the wardrobe while checking again my phone to see the last message of my friend.

_-Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your dinner and try to talk with your father._

Another thing Chloe and Rachel were insistent about was the fact that I should have told my father about my power. Before my special time travel, we didn't see the problem in keeping it a secret from my family, Pepper included, but now they thought that if they knew maybe they could help more.

I disagree and I won't change my mind anytime soon. My father already has a grudge against my soulmate even if he tries to hide it from me and this episode would only give him one more reason to hate the man his father idolized so much.

While reaching my door, my eyes caught sight of the one photo I had of Steve, of that day we spent together in the '40s. I donn't know how I gained it, somehow my camera took a picture of that moment, but I was happy to have it.

I took the photo in my hand and I run my fingers on his sweet face feeling my heart beat faster and my mark burning lightly.

Setting aside the picture again, I went to the kitchen where I found my father helping Pepper in putting food on the table or so I thought because as always in reality he was fooling around and his girlfriend was trying to control him, she was probably the only one who could.

"If you don't put away that suit Tony, there won't be any dessert for you." said Pepper while cutting some tomatoes at the kitchen counter. I could see one of the Iron Man suit remote-controlled trying to bring a bowl full of pasta to the table while my father was leaning against the fridge playing with his phone.

"Oh, come one Pep, he is useful." he replied without moving his eyes from the screen.

"Yeah, a lot more than you, but it's you that has to eat so you have to help or… no dessert."

"Ok ok." He immediately said pocketing his phone, giving the suit the order to go to the lab and starting to help his girlfriend.

I smiled at that scene, it was normal behavior in our house, sometimes one could think that we were a normal family and I didn't want to changing anything causing a problem. I could deal with my time traveling problem alone.

We were eating when my father said that we were going to spend christmas in New York.

"But Dad, I was hoping to spend Boxing Day with Chloe and Rachel."

"I know sugar, but I have work to attend to in New York and I don't want to stay away from you during the holiday." He stopped and I could see the doubt in his eyes: "Or you would prefere to be alone?"

"What? No!" I exlaimed surprised: "I love you Dad and Christmas is important. I just didn't expect to travel this year."

"I know, but..." he hesitated looking at Pepper who chose to stay silent: "You haven't been yourself in the last month. I don't know what's wrong with you, you don't want to talk about itand I won't push you, but I thought that a change in scenery could help."

I smile at his concerne: "I'm sorry daddy, I didn't want to worry you."

"We know Maxime." Pepper said taking my hand giving it a gentle squeeze and doing the same with my father's one: "But we worry, it's your father job and I love you so much that I can't help it."

"I know Pepper and I love you too." I said sincerely: "But I promise that if I will be really in trouble I will talk to you."

"That's all we can ask." my father said leaning against the back of his chair with his hands behind his head: "Oh and you can ask your friends if they want to come to New York for New Year Eve."

"Really?" I asked suddenly very exited.

"Of course, sweety." said Pepper getting up with some empty plates: "Your father has organized another party and we are sure that you don't want to come."

"No, I went that one two years ago and it was enoght for me."

"Oh come one!" exlaimed my father: "It was a one time thing, it won't happen again!"

"Sure, honey." said the blond woman patting his shoulder as if he was a kid.

"I am serious!" he cried irritated.

"Of course dad, we know." I laughted getting up to help his girlfriend ignoring his childish behaviour. Life with Tony Stark won't ever be boring.

It was Christmas Eve and I was in my room in the tower of New York. I was bored to death because, exept for a day out with Pepper, I had stayed in the tower moving between the lounge area and the training floor every single day. There were a lot of activities to do insiede, but it became boring after two days.

I wanted to go outside and take picture of the city, I always thought that New York in Christmas season was one of the most beautiful cities in all country, but my father asked me to stay inside after he had to deal with some problem with the press. So that afternoon I was stuck in my room while waiting for my crazy family to come back so we could all eat their Christmas dinner.

My phone buzzed from the desk while I was taking boring picture around the room. So I put down the camera to answer the call from Rachel who asked: "How's New York treating you?"

"Horrible, I am bored to death." I answered sitting on my bed with a sigh.

"You should try to escape your golden prison!" I heard Chloe cry from the other side of the line.

"Do not listen to her, please." said her girlfriend and I could imagine the hard look that she probably gave the blue headed girl.

"Don't worry, I am not crazy like her." I laughted with the possible scene clear in my mind: "I won't worry my father so much after what happened."

"Yeah, we read the article. I don't blame him for wanting you inside all the time."

"He is always the one making trouble and I have to suffer the consequences."

"Well, your father has always been the kid in your family." she supplied and I couldn't deny it.

"So true."

"You were born old!" cried again Chloe and I rolled my eyes at her old joke. For her, I wasn't crazy enoght so I was an old soul inside a young body and she reminded me of her opinion everytime she had the chance.

"But you wouldn't change him for anything in the world."

"Yeah, he is my father and I love him for how he is even if..." I replied stopping when something caught my eyes.

"Max? Max, are you alright?" I heard Rachel asking with a worried voice.

"Yes, it's just..." I started saying getting up from my bed and reaching for my camera. "It can't be..."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"My camera..." I said watching as the lens sparkled on its own just as it had happened in the park nearly one month and a half ago.

"What? Is acting up again? Max, I don't understend what are you..." said Rachel worried and I could hear Chloe asking her girlfriend what was wrong, but I totally ignored them and put the lens before my eyes with my heart beating fast in my chest…

I felt myself falling and I knew that I was about to see my soulmate again.


	4. Third Chapter - Christmas Eve Dinner

**Hi everybody! I am so exited about thi fanfiction because it seems there are a lot of people that enjoy it! This story has already 18 follower and 5 favourites! I never imagined… thank you! **

**I hope you don't start to find it boring, the action will start in a few chapter.**

**Review**

**GawkyTC: I am so happy you are enjoying my story and I hope to not disappoint you in anyway. I have all the fanfiction planned out so… well, you will see what will happen. Thank you again!**

**Now, on today's chapter: Max in the '40s and it's Christmas Eve. What will happen?**

**Christmas Eve Dinner in the '40s**

When I opened my eyes again, I was outside just like the first time I travelled back in time and it was snowing, I could feel some snowflakes carried by the wind hitting my skin. I was on a wooden floor, but there was some kind of cover above me and with further inspection I noticed that I was on the second landing of an external staircase.

Getting up, I realized that I was underdressed for the weather I was in, but in the tower it was always hot so I was not used to dress in warm pajamas and I was wearing what I usually wore in our Malibù house that hardly knew what cold meant.

I looked over the railing and noticed that I was in a tall building with a lot of similar ones all around, a little grey courtyard was in the center where some children were having a snow fight running and laughting. I deduced to be in Brooklyn, probably Steve flat was near and looking to the door on the landing at my left I decided to try that one, maybe it was the lucky one.

I knocked on the old scratched wood and waited for someone to open it with my heart beating furiously inside my chest. I could hear steps from inside and just a few second later the door opened. On the threshold there was a young man that I had never met before, but he was familiar somehow. He had short dark brown hair and light blue eyes, he was tall and had broad shoulder. He was definetely handsome and a lot of girls would fall for him.

A smirk appeard on his thin lips while he leaned against the jamb with his arms crossed in front of his chest: "Can I help you doll?"

Doll? What kind of nickname was that?

"I am searching for someone that I think lives around here, but I don't know his address. Maybe you can help me?" I asked ignoring his gaze that was studying me with great attention. He probably was thinking that I had strange clothes, after all we were in the '40s and it was heavely snowing.

"Of course, I will help you. Who are you searching for? But if you don't find this person, maybe you can join me for dinner, it's Christmas Eve after all and nobody should be alone in this night. And it's freezing ouside, so we could..."

"Thank you, but I am searching for my soulmate, I don't think it would be a great idea." I interruped him before he could elaborate his idea further, I knew what he was about to say.

With my words, he straightened his back and looked at me with curiosity, at least he has some respect towards things important such as soulmates: "Who are you looking for?"

Even if I was surprised by his changed behaviour after my words, I decided to go straight to the point: "I am searching for Steve Rogers, I think he lives around here."

"Steve?" he asked surprised then he looked behind him shouting: "Steve! There's a nice dame looking for you!"

"Steve is here?" I asked starting to shake from anticipation, after 54 days I would see him again.

"Buck, what are you talkin about? Who could..." Steve appeared behind the one that now I knew to be Bucky Barnes with a towel in his hand. He was wearing a thick pullover over his brown trousers and stopped dead in his track when he saw me: "Maxime?"

"Hello Steve." I murmured before throwing myself at him, locking my armas around his neck and burrowing my face in his chest.

I could feel his body freeze at my touch, but he relaxed immediately hugging me back with his nose in my hair and inhaling my perfum.

"I thought I would never see you again." I heard him saying near my ear.

"Me too."

We stayed that way for I don't know how long until Bucky cleared his throat to remember us of his presence. We let go of each other, but I stayed at his side and I could see a giant smile on Steve's face.

"Maxime, he is my best friend Bucky, you know the one I talked to you about." he said gesturing to the man that had opened the door. Bucky was studying us with a smirk on his face.

"So you talked about me to your soulmate?" he asked with a strange tone and the smirk became larger: "And why you didn't tell me anything about her? I didn't even know that you had finally met her!"

"I..." Steve stuttered blushing furiously while Bucky and I waited for his answer that came after a sigh: "I was scared. It happened so suddenly and it was kind of… strange?" asked looking at me, he probably was scared I would be angry for his chosen words, but I smiled at him reassuringly.

"Strange?… Ok, Why don't we talk about it during dinner?" Bucky asked looking at me: "The food is ready and you can't loose the chance at eating Steve wonderful cooking. There is enought for the three of us, there is a bottle of good wine and we can know each other better."

I didn't know what to say, I was going to eat and celebrate in my time with my father, but the hopeful look in Steve's eyes made me decide to stay with them.

"Ok, thank you." I said with a smile and I noticed Steve's one to grow at my words while Bucky studied his friend with something in his eyes. A glint of… mischief? Or it was happiness?

They lead me to the little kitchen where the square wooden table was covered with a white cloth and full of food with great smell. Bucky wasn't lying, Steve had to be a great cook.

Steve moved a chair for me and helped me sitting before the two men could do the same. It was strange this kind of respect they payed to women, but I thanked him with a smile and waited for them to sit as well.

We started eating in silence. From time to time, Steve and I stole glances at each other like teenagers in love, well technically I was a teenager and we were in love even if we still hadn't said the words, but I wasn't sure about his age.

"So, you were about to tell me how you met." Bucky said deciding that it was better to break the ice because neither Steve nor I were intentioned to do so.

Steve glanced at me before saying: "Like I said, it was kind of strange."

"Yes, I get that, but why?" asked his best friend sincerelly confused.

"Because of where I came from or..." I added when I read his question on his face: "Or when I came from."

"When?"

I started from the beggining explaining my life or at least what I could tell them about it. Steve already knew about some of them, but he discovered new things asking question after question and I was enjoying myself at talking with the duo.

Bucky believed my story without problem and I was surprised. He said that even if it was a very strange story like Steve had said, his best friend believed it and he knew he wasn't a liar. And after all, what could I gain with lying to them? To my soulmate? He had seen Steve's mark and I showed him mine so he knew I was saying the true.

"And what can you tell me about you?" I asked Bucky: "I know Steve is an art student, but what about you?"

"Well, I work here and there, sometime at the docks or where I would be paid enough to live, but now with the war..."

"The war?" I asked confused, but I suddenly remembered that in December 1941 the United States had entered the Second World War: "What year is it?"

Steve smiled sadly at me: "1941, you were gone for more than a year."

"A year?!" I exclaimed surprised: "For me it has been just 54 days!"

"No, for me it has been 1 year and 87 days." he murmured lowering his eyes: "I thought that I wasn't going to see you again, that I had lost my chance with you."

"Oh Steve." I got up from my chair and kneeled on the floor at his side hugging him with my face in the crook of his neck. He embraced me while I kissed his skin and I could imagine him blushing at the contact.

"Don't." Steve said with a hard tone and I heard Bucky laught while he stood up to reach the kitchen counter near the stove on the far wall of the room.

"I wasn't going to say anything, jerk."

"Yeah yeah… punk."

Steve and I separeted and looked at each other in the eyes lost in the moment. My face was at a small distance from his and I could see his cerulean eyes looking at my lips while I was doing the same with his. What would be like to kiss my soulmate? What would be like to have my first kiss with my soulmate? Was it going to happan?

"Ok, dessert is ready!" Steve and I jumped away from each other blushing while Bucky was near the table again with a strange look on his face and that smirk oh his: "I interrupted something?"

"Don't be a punk and put the dessert down."

"I can always eat it alone while you two..."

"Don't you dare!" Steve exclaimed getting up and reaching for the food in his friend's hand. I looked at them with an amused smile while they wrestled for the tray. At the end, Steve won and the dessert was served while the conversation reprised without touching the near kiss topic.

After dinner, I helped them to clear the table and started washing the dishes, but Bucky said to us to go in the living room and enjoy our company while he finished to tidy up the kitchen.

After trying to help with no result, Steve and I sat on the little worn out sofa with our hand intertwined and I leaned against his shoulder.

"I am happy to be here." I said with an happy smile on my lips.

"I am happy that you are." he replied kissing my hair on the side of my head.

"I don't want this night to end."

"Me neither, but it will happen, won't it?"

"I am afraid so." I murmured enjoying his touch.

"Well, I just hope I will see you again sooner this time."

"I hope so too. 54 days had been an eternity for me, I cannot imagine… more than a year…"

"It was… I can't decribe it."

"You counted every day we were separeted." I mumbled feeling sleepy.

"You too." I heard him reply.

"Yeah, but I counted only till 54, you..."

"1 year and 87 days."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be. I wasn't you fault and I don't want to think about it anymore. You are here and I will enjoy every second of this opportunity." He said circling my waist with his arms and letting me rest agains him.

I looked up and smiled at him: "You are wonderful Steve." I said before pushing myself a little bit toward him to kiss his cheek near the end of his mouth.

He blushed again, something that I found sweet than I repositioned against him and closed my eyes.

I should have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew when I opened my eyes, my father was calling for me saying that dinner was ready. Disappointed, I realized I was in my time again.

"I'm coming!" I shouted before getting up from my bed looking at my phone and noticing that there were several calls from Chloe and Rachel. I decided to write a simple message with the promise to call them later and tell them everything.

While I reached for my door, I noticed on the floor another picture and taking it in my hand I could see that it portraied Steve and me asleep on the sofa. I smiled fondly than I put the photo with the other one.

I really hope to see you again soon, my soulmate.


	5. Fourth Chapter - Expo?

**Hi! I am so sorry to be so late in my updates, but it has been a crazy week and the next one will be the same so I don't have a lot of time to write.**

**I promise that starting with October, ny updates will be regular once a week again, but until then I am not sure. The 30th will be my birthday and I will have a big party at my house so I have to organize everything… alone.**

**I want to thank UnknownReaderHasJoined and the guest for their reviews because it's always a pleasure to know your opinions about my story and I am really happy that you love it!**

**Thank you for all those that follow my story ( 27) and to those who favourite it (11).**

**On today chapter: Max is again in her time and it's the end of her last school year, but something new will happen. (I totally invented the name of the school).**

**Fourth Chapter – Expo?**

Studying for final exams was horrible.

Studying for final exams of my final year was stressful.

Studying for final exams of my final year at the end of the hottest May in Malibù was both and the summer holiday weren't coming fast enough for my taste. I was also still waiting for my acceptance letter from the "Photography and Art School" of New York and I was nervous like I have never been before.

Chloe, Rachel and I were seated on the big white sofa at my house with air conditioning at full speed and the coffee table covered by books trying to study… Well, Rachel and I were trying while my blue headed best friend was fooling around with her smartphone.

"Chloe, could you stop please? We are trying to not fail our final exams so we can go to university next year!" I said exasperated giving my friend a hard look while her girlfriend hitted her with a thick book: "And you could study too so you would have a chance to pass."

"I don't need to study, I am a genius." was her arrogant reply after having successfully dodged the book and sticking her tongue out of her mouth like a child, but I knew that she didn't really mean it.

"Yeah, that's why you failed the last two." Rachel commented rolling her eyes: "I don't even know how you have arrived at the end loosing just one year."

"Just as I said, I am a genius and I don't need to study. Those two exams I failed where my way of giving a message to our professors."

"What? That you are lazy?"

"No, but we have to fight for our rights to live free of homework and..."

"Just shut up and study!" Rachel and I shouted together while I grabbed her phone hidding it under the pillows, but inside I was laughting at her antics and I really needed it. In nearly six month, I didn't had a chance to travel back in time again and I was starting to feel depressed, but she was always there to bright my day at the right moment.

I often thought of my soulmate asking myself if he was loosing hope for some kind of future together because I was. I mean, he lived and died in the '40s and my life was in the 21st century, how would it be possible?

"You little..." Chloe started with a playful glint in her eyes, but she wasn't able to end her sentence because my father entered the living room in that moment flying with his new and shiny suit and I knew that our homework would be forgotten.

"Hello girls!" he said opening his mask and smiling brightly at us.

"Good afternoon mister Stark." greeted Rachel.

"Hi!" exlaimed Chloe more relaxed than her girlfriend getting up to shake his hand. Chloe has always been fascinated by my father, but since he had become Iron Man she became a true fan girl and sometime it was a little bit embarassing being in the same room with the two of them. Memories from our previous New Year party came back to my mind full force and I knew that my father enjoyed every single moment egocentric as he was.

"No need for fomralities girls, I thought I already said that. I know youu since you were toddlers. Oh God, I feel old… I need a drink!" he exlaimed walking towards the bar to pick his favourite drink: "But what are you doiung still cooped up in the house with a beautiful day like this?" he added gesturing towards the giant window that covered a whole wall from which you could see the ocean.

"We are trying to study, dad. You know? Read books, do math exercices, repeat lessons?" I said rolling my eyes, but closing the book I had in front of me.

"And why you would do that? You are all so smart that you don't need to study!" my father said drinking from his glass full of wiskey.

"That's exactly what I said!" Chloe exlaimed looking at me with a hard glare.

"You hope..." murmured Rachel, but her voice was so low that only I could hear her and I tried to stiffle my laughter.

"You will pass your exams with flying colors!"

"Dad, not everybody has an IQ as high as yours and need just a night to study a new subject." I said getting up from the sofa to grab a coke from the fridge and offering one bottle to Rachel.

"And what I am? An ornament?" Asked Chloe crossing her arms in front of her chest when I ignored her on my way to the bar.

I didn't reply and looked at my father: "What are you doing back at home so early? Pepper kicked you out of your own company?"

"Nah! We have a formal dinner and I was out with your uncle Rhodey to update his War Machine suit."

"And you forgot about it as always."

"Yeah..." affirmed my father embarassed rubbing the back of his head still covered by the metal suit with his right hand.

"You are lucky that Pepper is so patient with you." I sighed shaking my head exasperated.

"She loves me."

"Yeah and I still ask myself what she sees in you." I said playfully while my father gave me a glare before walking towards the stairs without answering my digs.

"I will be in the lab for the next hour if you need me." he said withtout looking at us before desappearing from our sight descending the stairs.

"You two will never change." Rachel commented with a smile on her red lips.

"You two are really strange." Chloe said picking a bottle of coke too and sitting on the sofa again with us.

"And I hope we never will." I said sincerely with a fond smile before adding: "Alright, I think that for today we have studied enought and we can take a break."

"Well, at least you and I can, Chloe on the other hand..." tried to say Rachel, but Chloe silenced her with a passionate kiss that made me blush. I had no problem with their relationship, they were soulmates and were deeply in love. I was happy for them, but everytime I saw some kind of affection between the two girls I was forced to remember that I was alone while the love of my life was dead in the artic sea.

"Ok, ok, today you win." said the brown haired girl with a small smile: "But from tomorrow we will study full time and you can't complain."

"Alright." Chloe said compliant while getting up again to grab my photocamera from the bookcase where I had put it that morning after having spent the first hours of light taking photos on the cliff: "And before we loose our minds with homeworks, I propose to immortalize our last hours of freedom with a great picture."

"You are so drammatic." I said shaking my head, but liking her idea and we posed with the window behind us.

Chloe, being the tallest, was the one that needed to take the picture with her right hand so that everybody would be in the picture: "Ok, are you ready?"

"Yes!" Rachel and I said together, but in that moment I noticed something: the camera lens was shining again.

"Chloe, wait..." I tried, but it was to late and a bright light enveloped us. I started to fall and then I was with my back on a hard and cold floor… again…

"Uh..." I heard someone moaning near me so I turned my head confused and my eyes grew with surprise when I noticed that my best friends had travelled back in time with me.

"What… What happened?" asked Rachel sitting up slowly and looking around without recognizing our surrounding.

"Where are we?" was Chloe's question while she sat up like her girlfriend grabbing her hand traying to give her courage knowing that the brown haired girl was easy to scare.

"I think… That we are in the '40s together, gilrs." I replied getting up and looking at the place we were in: "But I am not sure where exactly we are."

"So this is what you experience everytime?" asked Chloe walking toward me hand in hand with Rachel.

"Yeah, it's not very confortable." I ammitted.

"No kidding."

"But what is this place?" asked Rachel looking at all the lights and strange building: "It seems a fair of some kind."

"It reminds me of Stark Expo." I commented studying a strange sculpture in the center of a large square: "What is it supposed to be?" I murmured trying to immerge myself in the mentality of that time.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. It's the kind of… grandeur your father would use."

"Stark Expo started during the war, right?" Rachel said looking at me and I nodded. It had to be one of the first years of the expo because I couldn't believe that it had been so many years since my last visit… right? He would be dead otherwise. No, he couldn't be…

"Look at the date!" Chloe exlaimed pointing towars a bright signboard: it was a earth shaped globe with the name of the fair on a ring around it.

"The World Exposition of Tomorrow, 1943." I read and took a sigh of relief because it was just the first year of the exposition, but I suddenly rememberd something: "I think Steve is here."

"Really?" asked Rachel exited at the idea of meeting my soulmate.

"Of course he is. Why would your camera bring us here if he was somewhere else?" Chloe added rolling her eyes like it was obvious.

"I remember to have read that he got accepted in the army at his fifth attempt to enroll during this fair." I exlpained happy to have read so much about Steve after our first meeting.

"Ok, so we have to find him." Chloe said walking ahead with Rachel right behind her because of their linked hands.

"We?" I asked allarmed following them. I wasn't sure if Steve meeting Chloe was a good idea.

"Of course, we want to meet him!"

"Maybe we should let them be alone, Chloe." Rachel said pulling her girlfriend's hand and stopping her.

"But..." the blue headed girl tried to protest, but a glare from her soulmate silenced her.

"We can meet him, but then we will explore the expo and let them be. It's their only chance to be together so we won't stay with them."

"Alright." Chloe agreed with a sigh before grinning: "After all, when we will have the chance to have a date in such a magic place?"

Rachel smiled brightly and kissed her before the three of us started to walk around looking at the strange things that were exposed while I tried to find my soulmate.

We were walking near the entrance of the fair when I heard a strong voice that I remembered from my last visit: "Alright ladies, ready to live the night of your life?" and that question was followed by two girlish laughters.

I turned my head and I saw four people walking towards us: the tallest man was Bucky in his army uniform and two young girls were walking at his side while my Steve was following them without convintion. Probably he was there just to make his friend happy for his last night in the country, but I had every intention to change his night.

"Girls, he's there." I murmured to my best friends pointing with my head at the little group.

"The blond one, right?" asked Chloe with a smile and I nodded happy that she didn't said anything about his height or something else.

"He's cute!" exlaimed Rachel with a low tone before grabbing my hand and walking towards them: "Come on! You have to stop him before we lose them."

"I..."

"Are you nervous?" asked Chloe surprised: "It's not your first meeting."

"But it has been more than one year… again..." I said looking at my feet with sadness. I felt so guilty that he had to experience a large amount of time alone between our meetings while for me it had been just a few months.

"And he will be extatic to see you." said Rachel giving me a encouraging smile: "And if history teaches us something, he will be in the army soon enought so you being here would make him very happy before his adventure."

"Ok." I said while Chloe pushed me forwards and after a long breath I shouted: "Steve!"

The girls didn't react at my voice, they probably didn't remembered the name of the second man with them, but Bucky and Steve froze before turning towards me. I smiled brightly when my eyes met my soulmate's ones and I ran into his arms that were immediately ready to welcome me.

I was Home again.


	6. Fifth Chapter – What it really means,,,

**Hi everybody! I am really sorry for my lateness, but it has been a terrible couple of weeks and there are others to come so I won't update with a regular schedule for sometime. I just hope that you will still follow this story. I am so happy for all the people that have put it in their favourites or that are following it.**

**I want to thank all the readers that spend a little of thier time to leave a review because it's always a pleasure to know whta you think.**

**On today chapter, Max and Steve spend the night at the expo and something unexpected happen...**

**I promise that from the next chapter, we will have some action!**

**Fifth Chapter – What it really means to be with you**

"Maxime…" Steve breathed into my hair while his arms went around my waist: "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too and I know that for you have been more than a year again." I said looking into his bright eyes with a small smile: "I'm so sorry."

"We both know that it's not your fault, doll." he said kissing my cheek: "You can't control it."

"Who is she?" asked a voice I didn't recognized and turning my head I saw the two girls that Bucky had found as dates that night looking at me with disgust in their eyes. They were studying my chlotes and judging them because for the time we were in they were really strange.

"She is Maxime, Steve's soulmate." explained Bucky between the two young ladies circling their waists with an arm each while smiling at me. He seemed really happy to see me, probably he was worried for his friend.

"And we are her overprotective best friends, so if you have a problem with her you can say something in our faces."

Chloe and Rachel came near me and my blue headed friend had her hands on her hips while glaring at the two girls who were shocked by her appearance.

"Chloe…" I tried to calm her down, I didn't want to cause problems. It probably was the boys' last night in town, even if Steve didn't knew it yet, and I wanted them to bhave a good time.

"What? I hate when people judje others just for how one appear." she said looking at me with a innocent expression and I couldn't help but feeling grateful for her friendship. She was crazy and very outspoken, but she was a loyal one.

"We weren't…" tried to say one of the two girl, the one with long black hair, but was silenced by a hot glare from Chloe.

"We will wait for you near that stand, James." said the blond one with a slight tremor in her voice freeing herself from the hold the boy had on her, her friend followed her lead and together run away very quickly.

"Chloe, you shouldn't have done that." Rachel said with force to her girlfriend.

"But…" tried to defend herself the blue headed girl, but Bucky stopped her with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry, I understand your desire to protect your friend." he said with a smile: "And I have to say that I am happy that Max has friends like you with her."

"She will always have me to watch her back." said Chloe with a firm tone and looking the soldier in the eyes without fear.

"She has the both of us." replied Rachel with the same strengh in her voice.

"You know, if I didn't had already asked those two out already, I would ask you two." said Bucky with a smirk.

"Sorry, but we wouldn't be interested. We don't like boys." said the blue headed girl putting her arm around Rachel's shoulders and kissing her cheek.

Steve and Bucky seemed surprised by their open demostration of love, but they didn't said anything.

"James? Are you ready?" shouted the blond girl snapping them out of silence.

"We're coming!" replied the soldier looking over his shoulder with a bright smile and grimacing when he noticed that the two girls had noticed Max's friends kind of relationship and they didn't seemed to like it.

"Bucky, you have choosen them well tonight" said Steve with a sarcastic voice noticing how the two girls were talking about his soulmate and her friends with malicious intents.

"Oh come one! They're cute at least. " tried to protest Bucky, but he didn't really believed his words himself.

"If you think so." was the blond's reply.

"You are blinded by your soulmate, I understand, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other beautiful girls out there."

"Beautiful girls without brain." murmured Chloe and I have to say that I agreed with her.

"Excuse me?" asked the soldier confused.

"You seems to like women without brain. Do you think it's easier to get in their panties?"

"Chloe!" I exclaimed surprised by her tone while Rachel hitted her on the head, but we were all surprised when the two men started to laugh. We exchanged confused glances and waited for them to calm down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude." said Bucky once he recovered: "But you are the first one beside Steve that had the courage to say that to me without being afraid of offending me."

"I have no problem to say what I think." said my blue headed friend crossing her arm before her chest with a hard expression on her face.

"And that's usually the real problem." murmured Rachel making me stifle a laugh while Chloe glared at us.

"That's a good thing, you must stand up for yourself and what you belive in even if you are a woman." said Steve with a smile.

"Don't worry, she has no problem in doing so." I said shaking my head exasperated and I suddenly realized that I was still in his embrace, but I didn't want to leave his arms.

When the blond girl called for Bucky again, the soldier decided to move the conversation: "I think it's time for presentation. I am James Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. At your service." said with a slight bow.

"Nice to meet you, I am Rachel Amber." said the brown haired girl with a smile.

"Likewise, I'm Chloe Price."

"And I am Steve Rogers." said my soulmate attracting my best friends attention.

"And we are so happy to finally meet you." said Rachel with exitment: "Maxime talked so much about you."

"Yeah, she can't stop to talk about you." added Chloe giving me an amused look while I heavily blushed.

Steve stroked my cheek with a gentle touch to calm me down before replying: "I heard a lot about you two too and I am happy to finally put faces to those two names."

Chloe and Rachel exchanged a strange look when Steve touched me, but they didn't commented. Rachel just added: "While it was a real pleasure, we want to give you two time to spend together. So we will explore the fair until it's time to go back home."

"And don't do anything I would do!" shouted Chloe while her girlfriend pulled her away saying their goodbyes to Steve and Bucky.

"They are really something." said James amused before looking at us: "I imagine that I will have to entertain the girls alone tonight."

"I am sorry, Bucky. It's your last night in the city, I should..." started to say Steve, but his friend stopped him with his hand.

"Don't worry, spend the night with Maxime. It's been a year, I understand."

"Why is your last night in New York?" I asked trying to seem ignorant, but I failed because the soldier looked at me with a look that said he didn't believed me.

"I think that you know why."

"Yeah..." I ammited looking at the floor with a slight blush: "And I am sorry that I ruined your last night with your friend."

"I spent a life with him, it doesn't matter."

"Thanks Bucky." murmured Steve into my hair.

James laughed shaking his head: "I don't believe that you would prefer to spend the night with the girls and me instead that with your soulmate."

"You are right." my soulmate said hugging me harder against him.

"I will have the night of my life, don't worry. You enjoy your date, I'll see you later." and once he said that, he reached the girls, put his arms on thei shoulder and started to walk away.

"Shall we go?" asked Steve offering his right arm to me with a gentle smile.

"With pleasure." Ireplied accepting his offer.

We started to roam the fair with great interest. I asked a lot of things, some machines seemed so foreing even for someone from the future like me, while he wanted to know if Stark and his staff were near a real invention or they all were impossible fantasty of a very rich man, but I always answered with caution because I couldn't reveal too much and Steve didn't seem to mind.

At some point, we reached the luna park's area where a lot of couple and families already were and started to go on some rides. My favourite one was without doubt the ferry wheel where I was seated near Steve with his arm around my shoulder to keep me warm.

Our next stop was a stand were one could win a teddy bear hitting with a small ball three empty coke cans. Steve wanted to try to win one for me even if I didn't want him to spend money again for me, but he didn't listened. He tried three times, each one with three tries paid, but he never did it and we started to walk away with him being defeated.

"It's just a teddy bear, Steve." I said with my head on his shoulder.

"But I wanted to win it for you." he whined loke a small child making me smile, I never saw him that way.

"And I thank you for that, but..."

"If only I could try again..." His words stopped me when an idea hit me and made him look at me confused: "What's wrong?"

I knew my idea was selfish, but it would make him happy and it was a good way to show him my secret.

"You want to know a secret?" I asked with a smirk on my lips grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the stand again.

"What are you talking about?" he asked clearly confused.

"I think that's the perfect occasion to show you my power."

"Your time travel's power?"

"Not exactly, I am talking about my little bit of control on time."

We stopped at the stand's desk again receiving an amused look from the man behind it when he started to come near us.

"Just watch." I murmured in his ear keeping a firm hold on his hand while putting the other one in front of us.

I could feel his eyes on me searching for something, but I closed mine and started to concentrate. I heard a gasp from him and I knew that everything around us was rewind itself.

"Your last try mister." said the man of the stand and when I opened my eyes I noticed him smirk at my soulmate, he clearly didn't believe that he could do it.

"Thank you." replied Steve still stunned by my magic while he exchanged again his money for three balls.

"So, what do you think?" I asked leaning against the table while he tried his first strike.

"I never saw something like that."

"Well, me niether. You can imagine how I was surprised to discover to have this power."

"I think I... I don't know what I would have done to be sincere."

"Well, I totally freaked out and – Oh don't worry if you miss the next strike too." I said when he missed the second one and made a frustrated sound: "I can always rewind the time again if you really want to win – as I was saying, I totally freaked out and I needed some time alone to realize that it was all real."

"I can only try to imagine." he said with a sigh when he lost again, but before the smirking man could come near us and taunt my soulmate like the first time, I used my power and the three balls were offered to us again.

"It's incredible." he whisperered, but he put himself totally in the game and with only two turns he did it and we left the stand with a giant brown teddy bear between my arms.

"Thank you Steve, I love it."

"I am happy to hear it even if I could win it just with your help."

"Well, it was something that we did together, right?" I said smiling at him with happiness.

"You are right."

In that exact moment, I started to feel strange and I knew my time was up again.

"Steve..." I tried to say, but he shaked his head while looking at something behind me.

"It's time for you to go, right?"

"How do you know?"

"I read the signs and... you friends are looking at us with a worried expression."

I looked behind my shoulder and I saw Chloe and Rachel waving at me to which I replied with a simple nod then I looked back in Steve's eyes.

"Steve, I have to say something first."

"What is it?" he asked confused.

"I know that you want to be part of the army and I know that nothing I will say will change your mind. I don't want to change it because I know what it means to you, I just want you to promise me to be carefull because the next time we will see each other you bettere have all your body's parts on you or I will kill you myself."

"I promise Max." he said with a smirk before being serious again: "I will fight for what I believe in and for you."

"That's all I ask." I said before reaching for his lips and kissing him for the first time.

Fireworks seemed to light in my stomach when our lips came into contact and they seemed made for each other. It was a soft and gentle touch full of our love. I felt his arms go around my waist while my hands went to his neck. I didn't want that moment to end, but I knew that our time was limited.

When we separeted, I noticed that my arms where starting to fade and Steve noticed it too with worried eyes before locking our gaze again.

"I love you Maxime." he said with his eyes full of love.

My heart started to beat faster at his word and I gave him a big smile: "I love you too, Steve." and I quickly kissed him again: "And wait for me, Captain."

That was the last thing I said before disappearing while noticing a confused look on my soulmate's face. One day he would understand.


End file.
